"Thanks, God! You're finally awake!"
I shut my eyes back when the blinding light of the sun entered my eyes. I then opened them slowly until I got adjusted to the glare. I stared at the woman who stood by the bedside, brushing the tears in her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Mia?" I exclaimed, my eyes glowed at the sight of my rival in my love for Sean.
"Why are you here?"
Her lips trembled right away, and her eyes welled with tears. "You scared us so much, especially Sean. I got so worried that he might not be able to handle his grief."
I furrowed my brows as I gathered back my thoughts on what happened before I drifted off to sleep. The ache on my back, the muscle pain, and my grogginess told me I had been in bed for days. Then, I remembered I was running after Sean and ended on escaping from the president through the cave. And I recalled everything that followed after that. A bronco bug bit me, and Philip's voice was the last thing I heard befo
I ran to the window and parted the curtains to the side. I looked over the direction of the Kalasag Hill, and just as I anticipated, I saw black clouds of smoke rising from the forest. Instead of losing my strength in fear, I felt an adrenaline rush from within me. I stormed out of the room, and without heeding the manager's yells, I ran towards the direction of the forest.I felt within me a prodigy of strength that none of the resort’s staff was able to stop me. Not long after, I heard the sound of the galloping horse’s hooves.“Ma’am, hop in!” the manager yelled at me while I moved to the side to give way.I saw him pulling short both the reins. Then he braced one hand on the horse’s neck, holding the rein tightly and grabbing its mane. Raising the other rein up and back, he then pulled it toward his shoulder.The manager then got off quickly from the horse as soon as it pulled to a stop. Without waiting for his inst
I furrowed my brows while I took the paper bags from her hands."Dr. Mia would like you to be there at her garden wedding this afternoon."I froze in my seat, unprepared to take the big blow. Sean and Mia are getting married today? Why hasn't she told me about it? Is she afraid to break the news to me because I am sick?I felt a lump sticking inmy throat, summoning the floodgates of tears behind my eyes to open up. I chuckled loudly, but my tears trickled endlessly that I couldn't brush them enough with the back of my index fingers."Look, Dr. Red, the garden is already ready," the nurse said as she walked towards the glass wall, peeping throughthe narrow slits betweenthe curtains.I jumped off the bed after a while then sauntered towards the glass wall. A beautiful flower garden greeted my eyes, and there were rows of chairs and tables indeed, wrapped in cream and burgundy pleated skirts.I scanned the place furth
"This is a mistake," I said, breaking the silence and awkwardness. "Because you thought that another man is coming in?" he said, and his lips broke into a tender smile. He strode fast towards me, then wrapped me right away in his arms. "I miss you, babe," he said in a hoarse voice, hugging me tighter. "I missed you so much." "You have no right to say that. In the next few hours, you will already have a new bride." Sean then held me at arm strength and looked into my eyes. "Mia?" "Who else?" I replied, my voice startingto crack. "My mother has long adopted Mia as my little sister. I'm sorry for not telling you this because it was part of the plan to mislead President Ric and his allies." My goodness! I felt like a candle, melting in too much shame. "I have always told you that there's no one else in my heart, long before I found you." Sean cupped my face, and when he was about to bend his h
Author's Note:I got the inspiration to write this book whenthe COVID-19 outbreak started to hit my country. I just imagined a love story that grows amidst the virus outbreak, but I realized later that this storyline could be a sensitive issue to those who are affected. So, I changed the name of the virus to make it fictional and diverted the course of the story from what I originally created in my mind."Red, can you please spare me a box of face masks?"I frowned at this message from a friend as I opened my messenger app. I crossed my leg over the other as I slumped over the couch in our physician's loungeas soon as I finished writing orders. I was already exhausted from those non-stop admissions. It was already past three in the morning when I returned to the quarters, and yet, all the ER beds were still full. Others were even helping thems
All of a sudden, there was chaos among the staff in the emergency room. They ran back and forth, wearing their N95 face masks in a snap of a finger. Those vigilant watchers of the waiting patients at the ER started to panic. They began to ask questions while putting themselves, as well, into their protective gear. Some sprayed alcohol on themselves, almost emptying the contents of a bottle in just a single use. Some of them even wanted to cancel their admissions and go home right away or transfer to other health facilities."Everything is under control. No need to panic," I heard someone from the infectious control department addressing the crowd, standing tall from the nurses' counter. She had power in her voice, however, the glints of fear reflecting in her eyes betrayed her inner feelings."What's happening?" someone from the watcher's lounge asked as he slid himself into the main ER's entrance."Someone came over here for a consultation. Just because h
My shift finally ended after a few hours Mr. Grey left the hospital premises. I gave him an antihistamine for five days but encouraged him to consult his physician if symptoms persist. I took a shower before leaving, planning to dive into my bed as soon as I arrive home. It had been a long shift, and all I wanted was to sleep for another 24 hours. I was already in my third year of medical residency training, specializing in Internal Medicine. I planned to pursue a subspecialty program, also known as fellowship training, and perhaps, I choose either Cardiology or Infectious Diseases. I was already a few months away from completing my residency, but still, I had not made up my mind yet.I took another shower as soon as I arrived home. I didn't want my boyfriend, Eric, to blame me if he ever gets sick. I was already tired of his foul mouth as I was becoming more and more worthless in his eyes. Yes, he had reasons why he looked down on me. He rescued me from the pit of financial
"See you at the Amara Hotel tonight, 7 pm. Don't be late.""Alright."Throughout those five years we were together, I learned to submit myself to his plans and decisions. I never questioned him though sometimes, I felt suffocated. I even accepted the fact that if he brings me to any function, it's not because he wanted my company but because I was like a trophy for him to show off. He was always far from the man I knew every time important men in his social circle surrounded us. He became the gentleman that he never was, sweet and caring like a thoughtful sweetheart. Sometimes, I even wished there would be more events to attend.I set my alarm clock to three hours before the event. It should be enough for my preparation, knowing that Eric was so meticulous. Perhaps because his call disrupted my train of thoughts, I drifted into a dreamless sleep as soon as my head hit my soft pillow..._____I was in a boat, enjoying the sceneries around me. We wer
I felt my blood rushing in the wrong direction when I heard Mr. Grey's name on Eric's lips. My heartbeats thumped erratically, and I started to feel afraid that Eric would sense my reaction. I turned away and pretended to grab my bag, heading out of the room ahead of him."Red, have you heard me?" I heard him asked before he grabbed my arm. I turned to him and raised my brow, pretending I didn't get his point."My goodness, Red, can't you be so stupid just for once?" Eric yelled into my face, and I stepped back in fright, even if he already did this to me a thousand times."What do you exactly want me to do?" I sighed as I responded, having realized I overacted my denial."You must grab a chance to talk to him or, better yet, dance with him!"I nodded but I added, and his reply increased the sense of humiliation I felt inside. "And you won't get jealous? Wouldn't this be a problem between the two of us?"He looked at me with disdain, laughin